Hostile territory no problem for Mike Whitehead

The former UFC and IFL fighter will face Southern California resident Renato “Babalu” Sobral (29-7) on the main card of “Affliction: Banned,” and Whitehead plans to play the role of spoiler for the hometown hero.

The Xtreme Couture-trained fighter was a recent in-studio guest on TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), he and discussed why fans should expect him to extend his 12-fight win streak by upsetting Sobral on his home turf.

“A lot of people are pulling for [Sobral], which is great,” Whitehead said. “That means it’s going to be a hell of a fight. But I’m here, I’m healthy, and I am ready to bring it.

The 27-year-old veteran knows the crowd will be decidedly against him, but he believes it may actually work in his favor.

“I’m already mentally preparing myself to be booed on the way [to the ring] since this is Sobral’s hometown,” Whitehead said. “All the pressure is on him to perform, and I am a pretty tough guy (for someone) to go out and try to have an impressive win (over) — like he wants to have.”

The Oregon native has actually prepped to face Sobral since 2007, when the two were originally inked to meet in the Philippines for the now-defunct Ring of Fire promotion.

“We have known about this fight since November of last year,” Whitehead said. “We were supposed to fight for another federation, but this federation bought them out and brought us over here.”

Whitehead, a former cast member of “The Ultimate Fighter 2,” is planning to bring an impressive array of cornermen to the ring on Saturday, hoping his Team Couture stable-mates will give him a competitive edge.

“I don’t know how many corners I am allowed, but basically we have the entire team out here,” Whitehead said. “I will definitely have Heath (Herring), Sean Tompkins and Robert Drysdale.”

This weekend’s exchange is the first of a three-fight deal with the new Affliction promotion for Whitehead. It’s a deal Whitehead hopes will give him the chance to show he deserves to compete with the best fighters in the world.

“Just to stand up there with guys that are so proven,” Whitehead said of his peers at the Affliction press conference. “(Hopefully) people will now recognize me for what I have been doing since I lost to (Keith) Jardine … getting in the gym, training with the best guy in the world at 205 (pounds), putting myself in positions where I get better. Finally I am here, and this is my time now.”

To hear the full interview, download Thursday’s edition of TAGG Radio, available for free in the TAGG Radio archives.

This story, written by Alton Dunham, was produced by TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com) specially for MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). The show — which is hosted by fighter/broadcaster Frank Trigg, Gorgeous George and ace producer Goze — books some of the biggest names in MMA. Download all the former episodes at www.taggradio.com, or tune into TAGG Radio’s live shows Monday-Friday at noon ET/9 a.m. PT.

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